“Punk” is bare — the pre-Beatles for a post-Beatles life. Both serious and fun, the code is a tight anticlimax. For the long haul it’s not; moderation and space are generally out. But that’s what makes it work.

The Ramones lead it.

I want to write like the Ramones. Simple, apt and hard, they encapsulate everything great about rock & roll. And “Sheena” encapsulates them. The rock past is new because they speed it up. You get the joy. And by showing heart to an audience I (Joey Ramone) helped to make and feel with, I (Joey Ramone) live the American dream.

Joey, of course, wants to be Ronnie Spector, and I want to be Joey. The same goes for “Sheena.” She’s a love song — to rock, herself, and the love of pop music.